British Travel Journal | Spring 2020
Eco-friendly tourism is at the top of our 2020 travel agenda. We have introduced a new Sustainable Travel series, kicking off this issue with ideas for Environmental Volunteering, in an eco-conscious quest of our own, we have discovered a supplier of recyclable paper wraps for sending our magazines in the mail. Next issue we will be featuring the UK’s finest eco-friendly holiday homes so, if you know of any hidden gems you are happy to share, please get in touch. Back to this issue - our 10 of The Best Charity Challenges, are sure to inspire. From cycling across Britain to skydiving from 15,000 feet, you can raise some vital charity donations while pushing yourself to your limits. The World Pilot Gig Championships is a seaside spectacle like no other on The Isles of Scilly this May, and we go Behind-the-Scenes ahead of The Cheltenham Festival, this March. Other destinations we uncover this season include the beautiful Lake District, spending a wonderful 48 Hours in St Mawes and the Roseland, an adventure packed weekend on The Isle of Man, and, arguably with the best views in London, our In the Capital series this season takes us to discover the highlights of leafy Greenwich. As always I hope this issue helps to inspire your travel experiences, and the spring season brings you many magical moments spent savouring the glorious British Isles - wherever you choose to visit.
Eco-friendly tourism is at the top of our 2020 travel agenda. We have introduced a new Sustainable Travel series, kicking off this issue with ideas for Environmental Volunteering, in an eco-conscious quest of our own, we have discovered a supplier of recyclable paper wraps for sending our magazines in the mail. Next issue we will be featuring the UK’s finest eco-friendly holiday homes so, if you know of any hidden gems you are happy to share, please get in touch. Back to this issue - our 10 of The Best Charity Challenges, are sure to inspire. From cycling across Britain to skydiving from 15,000 feet, you can raise some vital charity donations while pushing yourself to your limits. The World Pilot Gig Championships is a seaside spectacle like no other on The Isles of Scilly this May, and we go Behind-the-Scenes ahead of The Cheltenham Festival, this March. Other destinations we uncover this season include the beautiful Lake District, spending a wonderful 48 Hours in St Mawes and the Roseland, an adventure packed weekend on The Isle of Man, and, arguably with the best views in London, our In the Capital series this season takes us to discover the highlights of leafy Greenwich. As always I hope this issue helps to inspire your travel experiences, and the spring season brings you many magical moments spent savouring the glorious British Isles - wherever you choose to visit.
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CONNECT WITH<br />
NATURE ON AN<br />
ORGANIC FARM<br />
Founded in the UK in the 1970s<br />
WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities<br />
on Organic Farms), is an organisation<br />
connecting willing WWOOFers with<br />
farming hosts. Accommodation, meals<br />
and learning are given in return for<br />
help on the farm. Emma Robinson has<br />
been WWOOFing for several years<br />
now: “It seemed like a brilliant way to<br />
travel, meet really interesting people,<br />
stay in some wonderful places, and<br />
learn lots about organic growing and<br />
off-grid lifestyles.”<br />
“I took my partner for his first<br />
WWOOFing adventure to a<br />
smallholding just outside Macclesfield,<br />
where we stayed with a lady who was<br />
an absolute inspiration. She lived a<br />
very simple life, with no electricity, and<br />
kept her milk in the stream. She made<br />
her own country wines and let us sample<br />
a different one each night. We stayed<br />
in a gypsy caravan, with its own little<br />
stove, we bathed in the stream and<br />
had beautiful walks across the nearby<br />
meadows.”<br />
“Another of my favourite visits was to<br />
a community farm in the South West –<br />
another idyllic place. I was there during<br />
a holiday week, where various families<br />
came every year for a break. Every day<br />
included amazing meals, sharing stories<br />
and lovely conversations.”<br />
“For me, although I really love learning<br />
about gardening, growing, animal<br />
husbandry and so on, the best bit is<br />
the people. Really, it’s about enjoying<br />
the company of people that I otherwise<br />
wouldn’t meet, and who are always<br />
incredibly interesting, warm, inspirational<br />
and generous. There’s something about<br />
the nature of WWOOFing and its mutual<br />
generosity that really warms your soul.”<br />
wwoof.org.uk<br />
SCOTTISH WILDLIFE TRUST VOLUNTEERS AT LOCH OF THE LOWES<br />
PROTECT VITAL<br />
ECOSYSTEMS<br />
The Scottish Wildlife Trust undertakes<br />
policy and campaigning work to protect<br />
Scotland’s wildlife for the future, as<br />
well as managing a network of around<br />
120 wildlife reserves across Scotland.<br />
The organisation offers a range of<br />
volunteering opportunities, from cleaning<br />
beaches to saving squirrels. Helen<br />
Lancaster worked with the Trust as a<br />
volunteer assistant ranger. “I experienced<br />
and worked on all five of the Trust’s<br />
wildlife reserves in Perthshire. Each one<br />
of these reserves has unique features<br />
and working on them has given me an<br />
insight into how different habitats such<br />
as meadows and woodlands need to be<br />
managed.<br />
“Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve<br />
is one of the Trust’s flagship reserves,<br />
with iconic wildlife including beavers,<br />
red squirrels and ospreys. Helping<br />
to look after the reserve was a great<br />
responsibility to get to take on. The<br />
best thing about volunteering, though,<br />
was sharing time with like-minded<br />
people. There was a huge amount<br />
of support and encouragement from<br />
everyone I met during my time as a<br />
volunteer.”scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk<br />
<strong>British</strong><strong>Travel</strong><strong>Journal</strong>.com 25
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